Issue 1796 – What’s in a Name? – August 25, 2025
What’s in a name? Less and less in our world, but there was a time when every name had meaning. It told a little about who you were or where you came from. People could learn a lot about you.
Underhill likely meant you lived somewhere below a hill. Smith, Clark, Baker, and more referred to your vocation. Sometimes, your surname showed your ancestry. Johnson meant the son of John, and Fitzsimmons meant the son of Fitz.
My own last name, for instance, “Corbin”, is a derivative of corby, which means raven. It takes on more significance when you realize that the family coat of arms includes three ravens. Corbin translates out to roughly mean “one who lives by or under the sign of the raven”. In the days when people couldn’t read or write, that meant a lot.
The Bible names many people, and examining the meanings of their names can add to our understanding of what God is telling us. Moses means drawn forth or drawn out, appropriate since he was drawn out of the water as an infant and drawn out of Egypt as an adult. Jesus means salvation or deliverer. What a delightful name.
Another example is found in one of my favorite Bible stories, one that many people never even read. It is memorable for me because of the acts done by the principal character, a valiant warrior, and I love an adventure story. It also sticks in my mind because, before reading it, I never thought about the Middle East having snow.
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver’s beam, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men.
1 Chronicles 11:22-24
Great stuff, but let’s look at the names:
Benaiah: son of the Lord
Jehoiada: known by God or knows God
Kabzeel: congregation of God
We see God’s child, from God’s congregation, who knows God, delivered despite overwhelming odds. What an affirmation of God’s power. What a promise to us as believers. When we know God, he knows us. We are His children and His congregation, and He will deliver us.
A word of caution, we can overanalyze the names, and they are not something to build essential theology on, but there is often much that can be learned from what the name says.
There are numerous books and sites on the web that can tell you what a name means. One of many such sites is: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Dictionaries/HitchcockBibleNames/
The names of God used in the Bible make for a fascinating study of God and His character, but that will remain a study for another day.
Take a moment to look. Understanding the names can often help complete the picture of what God is saying.
What’s in a name? Lots. Remember that Jesus is your hope. He is your salvation or deliverer.
Until next time, may you feel the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed,
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”